According to a statement made by the Iraqi military, ten rockets have landed at the Ain al-Asad airbase, located 160 kilometers west of Baghdad, which hosts US and Iraqi coalition forces. An official from the Baghdad Operations Command stated that the attack today was launched from a location approximately 8 kilometers away from the base, in western Anbar Province. Another source from the Iraqi security service and an official from the government which anonymously gave more specific information on the attack indicated that the rockets were launched from a western point of the town of Baghdadi, located near the airbase.
Statements from the US came immediately, with Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declaring that no injuries were reported among American service personnel, though a US civilian contractor went into cardiac arrest while taking shelter and passed away soon after. Spokesman Kirby added that they are not certain of the extent of the damage caused by the rockets and, as a result, cannot attribute responsibility towards anyone. No group has yet taken responsibility for the attack. The Spokeswoman for the White House, Jen Psaki, later made a statement indicating that assessments are undergoing concerning the impact of the attack and related those responsible.
The attack follows US airstrikes against facilities of Iranian-backed militias at a border control point in Syria, last Thursday. Among those militia groups are Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada. The specific airstrikes aforementioned were the result of a rocket attack on US-led coalition forces in Erbil International Airport, which injured a US serviceman and led to the death of an Iraqi civilian contractor.
